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Bernie Ecclestone: “With hindsight Schumacher shouldn’t have started [his comeback]. How would he have performed if he was in a Red Bull? Or a Ferrari? I suppose when he went there [to Mercedes] he expected the team to do a lot better than they have.”

“As a lot of teams have, we’ve struggled to get it working and in the right region, and there just needs to be a bigger band of working range for everyone. It just makes it a little bit more fair. Some guys luck in to the tyres with their car at the start of the year and others luck out.”

“Having looked at the different bids, West Ham has now been named as preferred bidder in a move that will end the dreams of an F1 race around the park, which hosted the successful London Games this summer.”

Comment of the day

GT_Racer believes the original proposal to reintroduce ground effect aerodynamics in F1 from 2014 was a good one:

A lot of people seem to believe that the scrapping of ground effects for 2014 was good because ground effects is too dangerous and would cause cars to take off and fly a lot easier. This is simply not true.

What was proposed for 2014 was not the full on ground effects that was seen in the early eighties, It was a more limited form similar to what is been used in many other open wheel categories around the world (GP2 and the new for 2012 IndyCar for example).

Categories that use the sort of ground effects that was planned for F1 in 2014 are not more dangerous and do not see cars flying through the air any more often than is seen in F1 currently and its all down to wheel to wheel contact rather than cars simply taking off for no reason because there running ground effects.

There were problems with ground effects in the early eighties, Problems caused purely by the fact cars were scraping the floor and had practically no suspension. Advances in technology and a better understanding of ground effects would erase these problems even if a full-on return with sliding skirts etc… was on the cards.

If the designers/engineers believed the proposed ground effects rules for 2014 were dangerous they would never had proposed them and the FIA would never have accepted/implemented them.

The reason the plan was eventually scrapped was purely because teams believed it would increase the cost?óÔé¼Ôäós too much as they would have to totally scrap current designs, plus they believe DRS is great and is working perfectly well so any big aero changes are no longer needed.GT_Racer

75 comments on Schumacher’s comeback was a mistake – Ecclestone

Schumacher wouldn’t have won championship(s) in Red Bull, since RB was never as dominant as Ferrari 10 years ago was and Schumacher was constantly beaten by his team mate in Mercedes. He is not one of the best drivers anymore, more like below average.

Did you not see how dominant Red Bull were in 2011? If Schumacher had that car along with a clear number 1 status as Vettel did, I am certain he would have been champion. Remember Schumacher had so much experience of driving a great car at the front. Not so much with a struggling car running mid pack.

Schumacher in his first career? Absolutely he would have been champion. He’s the only guy other than Vettel to win 10 races in a year after all. The 2011 Schumacher, who often got eliminated in Q2 however, wouldn’t have matched Vettel’s 2011 season (nor would anyone on that year’s grid, to be honest).

Button is right, those mickey mouse tyres cost him this year’s WDC, but also partly due to Mclaren”s inability to solve it’s tyre issues. But JB looks a strong bet next year and I for one am looking forward to a battle between the three best drivers in F1: Button, Alonso, Vettel and maybe Riakkonnen.

Funny Bernie saying this now, I didn’t see him turning away the extra viewer-ship upon MS’s return, I wonder what it’s going to be like next year, now that Michael has hung up his helmet in F1, bet all those viewers will be watching the sport of Karting! So what if it was a mistake, at least he enjoyed himself during his time at MGP, I found him to be far more relaxed and approachable to many fans, not only his but also others, it also gave current F1 drivers the chance to drive with a living legend. Something Michael experienced himself driving against Senna, Prost, Hill, and others too.

If the most winning pilot should retire before it’s 40, why should not retire the old granny ( I think 82 now)? It seems to me that in the last times he is suffering of geriatric dementia, throwing out not needed comments……let some younger take your place your time is gone….

I’m glad Schumacher came back for three years … I wish he would’ve won a GP and performed better, but that didn’t mean I still didn’t enjoy watching him at every race. I like MS and his legacy is intact.